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Natchitoches Parish officials propose year‑long ABC/AB schedule for high schools as state testing shifts
Summary
District staff proposed replacing the semester block schedule with a year‑long ABC/AB day model to align instruction with a new state policy that moves comprehensive ELA and math assessments to spring and removes midyear testing. Administrators said the change preserves 90‑minute blocks, supports CTE labs and aims to boost graduation readiness.
Jennifer Martin, the district presenter on high school scheduling, told the board the change responds to a major state testing policy that eliminates midyear ELA and math assessments and moves comprehensive ELA and math tests to the end of the spring semester for incoming freshmen cohorts.
"The comprehensive assessments will only be given at the end of spring semester," Martin said, explaining that the shift means no midyear tests and a need to realign when students receive instruction and assessment. She said the current model compresses a year of learning into a single semester and can produce a large gap between instruction and assessment; the proposed model would keep 90‑minute blocks but make courses run year‑long using a C day followed by alternating A and B days.
The administration presented academic and operational benefits it expects from the ABC/AB model: more instructional minutes in December (no midyear testing), continuity of year‑long courses to reduce cognitive overload, increased exposure to course content before spring ACT testing, preserved time for career and technical education (CTE) labs, and maintained teacher planning time. Martin said the district would keep a sports block and "win period" for intervention, acceleration and credit recovery.
Superintendent Eloy framed the change as an effort to "position our students to win," emphasizing it is designed to align the district’s schedule with the new state graduation testing structure rather than to discard the advantages of the longstanding block system.
Board members asked how the change would be communicated to families and whether the February calendar would support it; Martin said the adopted calendar would work and staff plan face‑to‑face orientation events, targeted parent meetings, and summer leadership workdays to finalize logistics such as lunch shifts and transition minutes. She noted local precedents: "Middle Lab has operated on an AB day for science and social studies for over 10 years," and other local schools have trialed similar patterns.
District staff said counselors will place students into year‑long sections, campus operations teams will finalize lunch and transition plans this summer, and leadership will use orientation and soft starts to teach returning students the new rhythm. No formal vote on the scheduling change was recorded at this meeting; staff indicated implementation steps and additional board consideration will continue as the district completes planning.
What’s next: administration will finalize campus logistics this spring and summer, communicate a detailed family engagement plan, and return to the board with implementation details ahead of the next school year.
